


Mantle The (Not-So) Magnificent

by doctorkaitlyn



Series: tumblr fics & ficlets, part ii. [11]
Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Anniversary, Baking, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 16:50:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13528485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkaitlyn/pseuds/doctorkaitlyn
Summary: "How dare you. Iama magnificent baker. The oven just fucked it up somehow.""Uh-huh. I'm sure that's exactly what happened."(or, Reggie tries to make cupcakes for Jughead and discovers that there are indeed things he's not-so magnificent at.)





	Mantle The (Not-So) Magnificent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [veronicabunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/veronicabunch/gifts).



> written for the microfic prompt, "Reggie/Jughead + how dare you," as received from the lovely Ronnie! I've never written this ship before, and my knowledge of the comics is pretty rudimentary, so hopefully this is okay! <3

"How are the cupcakes coming?" 

"Totally fine," Reggie mutters, glancing back over his shoulder. Jughead is sitting on the kitchen island, a massive bowl of icing in his lap, Hot Dog curled up on the floor underneath his dangling feet. He's texting with one hand and dipping a wooden spoon into the bowl with his other, and as he places yet another dollop of chocolate icing into his mouth, he raises an eyebrow and leans slightly to the side, like he's trying to look around Reggie. 

"You sure? I don't think it usually takes fifteen minutes for cupcakes to cool down." With a smug smile, he dips back into the bowl of icing, and Reggie takes advantage of the momentary distraction to twist back around and glare at the cupcake tin sitting on the counter, thankfully hidden from Jughead's view. 

The thing is, Reggie doesn't know exactly what went wrong. When he'd initially come up with the idea to bake Jughead some cupcakes for their three-month anniversary, he'd presumed that it was going to be ridiculously easy. All he had to do was buy the ingredients and follow along with a recipe, step by step, and then there'd be delicious cupcakes that even his incredibly discerning boyfriend would like. 

Up until the point that he'd pulled the cupcakes from the oven, everything had seemed to be proceeding perfectly. But now, looking down at the tin, it's very clear that he fucked up _somewhere_ along the way, because five of the six cupcakes staring back at him have buckled and collapsed in the middle like sinkholes. 

If they were just ugly cupcakes, he might be able to move past it, but all it takes is for him to scoop up some powdery crumbs with his index finger and surreptitiously drop them into his mouth to realize that, not only do the cupcakes look ridiculous, but they taste _horrible_. They're too salty and too dry and too chocolaty, all at the same time, and he just barely manages to swallow the crumbs down without coughing. 

Still, there's a part of him that hopes that maybe it's just his own personal palette. Maybe Jughead will think they taste fine, and it's that possibility that makes him grab the one cupcake that hasn't collapsed and drop it onto a small plate. Spinning around, he thrusts it towards Jughead, who just stares at it for a few moments. 

"Where are the rest of them?" he asks, dropping his spoon into the icing bowl before he leans forward and carefully takes the plate. 

"Try that one first," Reggie says, trying to sound as casual as possible as he leans back against the counter, blocking Jughead's view of the remaining cupcakes once more. After a moment of staring at him suspiciously, eyes narrowed, Jughead uses his finger to drop a dollop of icing onto the top of the cupcake and proceeds to take a massive bite out of it. 

He doesn't spit it out on the floor or choke on it, but there's no mistaking the pinch of his mouth as anything other than an expression of disgust. 

"Looks like we've found something you're not so magnificent at," he says once he's swallowed and set the plate aside. 

"How dare you," Reggie retorts. "I _am_ a magnificent baker. The oven just fucked it up somehow." 

"Uh-huh. I'm sure that's exactly what happened," Jughead says, sounding so insufferably smug that Reggie doesn't know whether to kiss him or throttle him. "If you were trying to win my heart through my stomach, you could have just taken me to Pop's. That's usually foolproof." 

Reggie doesn't want to admit that he's been defeated but, turning back to look at the pathetic looking cupcakes, he's fairly certain there's no way to bow gracefully out of the situation. So, with a deep sigh, he asks, "Don't suppose taking you to Pop's now would make you forget that this ever happened?" 

Jughead grins, slides off the island, and scoops Hot Dog into his arms. 

"It's worth a shot. Lead the way, Mantle the Magnificent." 

Reggie flips Jughead off with one hand and tousles Hot Dog's messy fur with the other as they leave the kitchen. 

(Next time he gets an idea for a grand romantic gesture, he's just going to pay someone else to make it happen. Way less room for error that way.)

**Author's Note:**

> as always, I can be found on [tumblr.](http://banshee-cheekbones.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
